An Evening In
by Merina Thropp
Summary: Elphaba and Galinda have some girl time during the early days of their friendship. Pillow fights, boy talk, and spats of argument ensue. Gelphie friendship, Flinda/Gliyero, Fiyeraba.


**Discovered this dusty old piece, which was in fact one of the first pieces of Wicked fanfiction I wrote! Enjoy :)**

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><p>Elphaba Thropp sat in the centre of her dormitory bed, knees tucked up to her chest, a large leather bound volume blocking her face from view of her squealing room mate…who, to be frank, was driving her insane.<p>

"…and Elphie, you won't believeit but he drew me up to him all over again and I'm positively _positive _my toes nearly left the ground, and oh Elphie, I simply can't tell you how it felt! All tinglified up and down my back and right down to my toes, and I just wanted to melt_,_ and then –"

"– then he kissed you so _softly _and _sweetly_ like he really, truly cared, and you just wanted to sob because the moment was so perfect and he's the one for you and you know it and you just wish you could know if he feels the same although he must do because you two deserve each other and you're both perfect and both perfect together," Elphaba finished, monotone-style, eyes never leaving the page of The Complete Guide to Advanced Sorcery: Volume 2 for a second.

"How in Oz did you know all that?" Galinda's voice piped up, suitably surprised, from somewhere beyond the book. Elphaba sighed, grinding her teeth.

"Because you've told me so many times now I wouldn't be surprised if even Fiyero himself, dim-wit of a boy that he is, could recite it backwards."

"_Elphie –_" her room-mate's voice reproached. "He's my boyfriend!"

"He's an idiot," Elphaba muttered, turning a page, but her cheeks warmed in spite of herself. She heard her blonde friend huff to herself, then the bed dipped to one side, and Galinda's dusty-rose, nightie-clad form flopped down beside her.

Elphaba sneaked a disapproving glance. Even for an evening in, the outfit was ridiculously skimpy; she would have to make very sure no boys who came a-calling this evening were aloud to see her roommate in this state…

"Oh Elphie, what are you reading _now…_?

"The Complete Guide to Advanced Sorcery: Volume 2. Chapter 4, if you must know."

Galinda rolled her eyes, reaching up to rest one small white elbow on her friend's shoulder and leaning one side of her face on it.

"How _boring_…"

"It's fascinating," Elphaba growled.

Galinda huffed. "It doesn't _sound_ very…"

"Well it _is!_" the green girl snapped, ripping a page corner in her infuriation as she turned it. "So do me a favour, won't you, Galinda dear, and shut up a second so I can finish this in time for tomorrow!"

"Oh you're in _such_ a bad mood tonight," Galinda cried hopelessly, jumping up off the bed and flouncing over to her own. She flumped back on the frilly coverlet, her eyes on the ceiling, a wounded expression plastered over her face.

Elphaba forced herself to keep glaring straight at the text in front of her – but she bit her lip, all the same.

"Galinda," she sighed, turning a page. "You know Morrible wanted this read through by tomorrow – why didn't you go back with Fiyero afterwards for a fewhours or so? I'm sure _he _wouldn't have minded a jolt…"

Galinda didn't reply at first – just frowned up at the panelled ceiling for a few seconds. She nibbled her lower lip, still smeared with a touch of leftover lipstick.

"I wanted to tell you about Pfanee's party," she said, in a small voice. "And the kiss. I can't exactly talk to _Fiyero_ about something like that_,_ can I?"

"Mm-hm…why not…" Elphaba mumbled, eyes and brain fixed back again on her book. Glinda sighed.

"_Elphie, _are you even listening too me?"

"Not really," the girl replied, turning another page. "_Efra elkamen…_" she muttered to herself. Then she frowned. "_Elkamen_…that can't be right…"

"Oh, you can be so _mean _sometimes!" Galinda hissed, sinking back down on her covers – then realised the movement mussed up her tight blond ringlets a little too much, and sat up again, turning away from her friend and scowling at the opposite wall instead.

Silence fell again for a few cold, sulky moments. Galinda sighed loudly, pointedly – folding her arms across her chest so tight it looked as though she wasn't planning to change her position for a good few years to come.

More silence.

Elphaba turned three pages.

Galinda huffed twice more.

The fire crackled.

An owl hooted outside.

Elphaba finished her chapter, flipped the page over to begin the next one – then realised something very strange. _Galinda had stopped talking._

She frowned, glancing up to see her friend hunched in the centre of her glaring, lace-clustered pink bed, facing away from her. Sulking.

Elphaba sighed – knowing, without needing to ask, exactly what the problem was.

"Galinda?" she murmured, directing the question at her friend's back. Galinda shifted slightly, but didn't answer. Elphaba rolled her eyes, setting the book aside with an audible thump, and swinging her spindly legs off the bed to perch on the edge.

"Galinda…?" she said again, her tone wheedling. "Glin?"

Silence. Huffy, determined silence.

"Glin? Come on, Glin…"

Still silence. Annoyed, disapproving silence. Elphaba sighed deeply.

"Glin, you know I didn't mean to be snappish..."

More silence. Wavering, fidgeting silence. But the blonde head was still turned doggedly away from her room mate.

"_Glin_," Elphaba exhaled, exasperated but resigned to the fact her friend was, at the very least, offended– or pretending to be. "I'm sorry, all right? I really dowant to hear about the party and Fiyero's tinglified and…er…_perfectified_ kiss…really…"

Still, the girl refused to turn around…but her blond hair tossed ever so slightly in obvious scepticism of that pronouncement. Elphaba grinned at the movement, amused now.

"Galinda…? Glin? Come on, dear, you can't sit there sulking forever…"

Her room mate shifted a little at that. Elphaba opened her mouth to plead again – but then a thought struck her. Carefully, as quietly as she could, she reached over the covers of her bed to take hold of her large, grey-cased pillow. Grinning, she raised it high above her head – then threw it as hard as she could across to the opposite bed occupant, aiming for the golden head.

"_Oh!_" her room mate squealed as the pillow met its target, toppling sideways and grasping wildly above her for whatever had hit her from behind, whilst Elphaba burst into laughter, cackles filling the room at the sight of Galinda's perfect gold curls thrown up in all directions; now a complete mess. The girl whipped round, Elphaba's pillow clutched in her little hands. Baby-blue eyes narrowed in fury as she saw her friend rocking from side to side on her bed, cackling with laughter.

"Why _you_ _-!_"

"Your _face!_" Elphaba cried, pointing one emerald finger at her room mate's livid expression, laughter still uncontrollable. "You should have seen your _face_…your _hair_ – hey!"

She toppled backwards, cause of a large ruffled periwinkle-coloured pillow smacking her full on in the face, her hair flying up and blurring her vision. Galinda's high pitched giggles replaced her cackling with immediate glee.

"There, _Thropp, _didn't see that coming, did you -!"

Elphaba grabbed the topmost blanket from her bed, and Galinda barely had time to blink before the large scrap of smoky material flew across the room and flumped on top of her. She squealed in surprise, the sound muffled by the blanket, and Elphaba cackled quietly once again.

"You mean thing, you messed my hair all up and my lovely new – _hey!_"

Another blanket had followed the first, almost swamping Galinda in black – the colour looked very strange on her. She glared as her friend collapsed in cackles again, reached for her second and third pink pillows…and so began the official battle.

Elphaba reached for her third blanket – Galinda responded with Elphaba's first pillow. Both attempted to throw their quilts at the same time – but Galinda tripped. The covering completely overpowered her, and she ended up in a heap on the floor, both Elphaba's pillows gleefully adding to the victory. Elphaba insisted she'd won, Galinda squealed it 'wasn't fair' – and so the fight started up again.

Ten minutes later, the room was a worn out battle field of chaos – and both girls exhausted. Galinda collapsed on the bare mattress of Elphaba's bed – they had removed the sheets to fight with as well as the pillow cases – her friend following suite. Both lay side by side, panting, for several long minutes.

Then Galinda turned to her friend.

"I win," she stated, beaming. Elphaba widened her eyes in mock, _highly affronted_ shock,

"I beg your pardon, Miss Upland?"

"I mean, _Thropp,_" Galinda went on, looking very pleased with herself. "Those last two hits and the quilt that collapsed on top of me don't count, and –"

"Wait a clock-tick that was _three _final hits, you lying little -!"

"The one where I fell practically on top of you obviouslydoesn't count -!"

"And why not?" the green girl demanded, grinning now, propped up on one pointed elbow to argue better. "I am _easily _a better player than you – it was my first time too!"

"Oh don't be silly!" Galinda laughed, the sound a mixture of pealing bells and sparkling, bubbling streams. "That was my…oh I don't know! One hundred and sixty-somethingth?"

Elphaba glared – but she was smiling under the expression. "Show off," she muttered, her eyes on the patch of mattress between them.

Galinda's smile faltered – and she too propped herself up on one elbow to look at her friend with a new concern in her flushed face.

"That was…your first _ever _pillow fight? Truthifully?"

Elphaba raised her eyebrows. "That's a new one."

"Oh shush about the way I talk! Your firstpillow fight? A propersleepover pillow fight? Ever? _Ever?_"  
>The green girl rolled her eyes – but her smile was faded too.<p>

"Yes," she muttered. "When else, pray tell me, would I have had a friend over for something like a sleepover? For one thing, Father wouldn't have allowed it; for another, Nessa couldn't have joined in. And for a third…Glin, I didn't have any friends, you know that."

Galinda didn't know how to answer that, so she stayed silent. Both girls avoided each other's gazes for a few silent minutes – awkward with the ever-returning subject of Elphaba's life before Shiz. Galinda felt guilt, Elphaba discomfort. Neither wanted to talk about this now.

Then Elphaba looked up to meet her – only – friend's gaze, and smiled gently.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I ignored you. I'm sorry I was mean. And I really do want to hear about this kiss. All right?"

Galinda beamed. She threw her arms round her friend's neck and engulfed her in a hug, almost choking the girl in the process – then drew back to peck her cheek.

Elphaba stayed very still, face flaming with familiar, automatic colour, whilst her friend smothered giggles at the expression.

"You look like a tomato, Elphie!"

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks a million."

"Or maybe an apple! You know, the tale of Snow Whit, with the green apple and the red side that -?"

"Yes, Galinda, dear, _thank _you, that will do – what happened to telling me all about this party and Fiyero…?"

"Oh yes!" she squealed, pulling herself up into more appropriate sitting position next to her friend. "Yes, of course – how could I have forgotten?" She shook her head once in bewilderment, blonde curls bobbing – then smiled, folded her hands in her lap, and opened her mouth to launch off.

"Wait a moment!" Elphaba cut in, holding up both hands like a shield. "Don't you think we should tidy this…ah…bombsite up a bit first?"

Galinda opened her mouth to retort – but Elphaba sat up and clapped one hand over her friend's lips before she could reply.

"_Really, _Glin," she said, searching frantically for any reason to delay the retelling of another mammoth length Fiyero-tale. "Don't you think…I mean…what if Pfanee or Shenshen or even _Fiyero _came in early tomorrow and saw your room in a mess like this? What would they think? What would they _say_?"

Galinda's mouth dropped, her face twisting into an expression of pure horror. Elphaba had to hide her triumphant smile. She had hit a nerve there; social life. _Popularity_. Even Fiyero, on occasion, was less important than that_._

"You're right," the blonde gasped, glancing fearfully over at the door as though she expected her prince to come bursting through the door at any minute. "He would be…be…_traumatized_." She giggled. "_Traumatized_…that's a good word, isn't it? See, Elphie, I douse proper language, and big words!" She giggled again, scrambled down off the bed, and reached for the first blanket.

Elphaba rolled her eyes, biting back a few sarcastic replies to her friend's little statement…but followed suite.

Both girls spent the next part of half an hour tidying their bedroom. Elphaba found new sheets for the her bed – a certain blonde had succeeded in tearing her old one, though the blonde in question insisted heatedly Elphaba herself had torn it. There were no blue, grey or black ones left. She had to make do with white – much to the delight of Galinda.

Finally, a good way into the night later, both girls lay side by side in their separate beds, each staring up at their separate patch of panelled ceiling. The only light was now coming from the fire, which cast glimmering, mysterious shadows over the walls of the room. Elphaba pulled the covers up tight under her pointed chin, took a deep breath – bracing herself for the story to come – then called over to her friend that she was ready for her to begin the tale.

"All right," Galinda began, serious now, settling her hands behind her head and grinning up at the ceiling again. "Ok, so, you see, the party had ended at about ten-thirty, which Fiyero thought was _ridiculously _early. So, we spent a long, long time together on the walk back – he was escorting me back to our room, of course, and we were supposed to be hurrying because technically we were out of bed after hours –"

"- oh, _technically_ –"

"Elphie, shush, let me finish!"

Soft, barely audible cackles filled the room for a brief second – making Galinda stop dead in shock at the sound. With the shadows on the wall, the room in half darkness, and the stillness and silence of everything…Elphaba's laugh was unnervingly eerie.

Galinda shook herself, yawned once, turned over, and began again.

"Ok, so…he was escorting me back, but we didn't really hurry enough, though, because he kept _distracting _me…"

She paused, glancing over her shoulder and waiting for her room mate's reaction, question, plea for more information etc. Elphaba stared expectantly back at her. Galinda sighed, throwing her hands into the air in exasperation.

"_Honestly, _Elphie, you said you were interested…!"

"I am!" her green-skinned friend insisted innocently. "I _am_ interested, Galinda, but come on…you know me…"

"Well, you couldshow a tinsy bit more enthusiasm!" the blonde huffed – but she was smiling. She yawned again, stretching both pale arms into the air, and then snuggling back under the frilly coverlet. Elphaba sighed, grinding her teeth with impatience and blinking to stop her abruptly, terribly itchy eyes from closing. _She _was as tired as Galinda – and before the pillow fight, she'd been planning an early night. If this tale didn't hurry up…

"All right then," Galinda murmured, her words slower now. "So…'k, so after a lot of _distracting, _we were nearly back at our room…"

"Hurry up, Glin…"

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there, Elphie, patience…so yes, my room, we were nearly there…well…not really, I suppose, we still had a few staircases to go…"

"Just tell me about the Oz-damned kiss, Galinda," Elphaba mumbled into her pillow, fighting the urge to roll her heavy-lidded eyes. More than anything, she just wanted to go to sleep, now…

"I'm getting to that, Elphie, I'm just…" – another yawn – "…really sleepy all of a sudden…but anyway, yes…we were nearly there, nearly back at my room…"

Her words slurred just slightly at the edges, making Elphaba smile in secret, fond amusement. It was such an…un-Glinda-ish sound…

"…my room…and we heard footsteps from around the…the…corner…"

A pause. Elphaba scowled at the ceiling whilst she waited, fighting back a yawn whilst wondering whether she should just feign sleep if it spared her the in-depth report on this wonderful kiss…not that she found anything particularly uncomfortable about listening to Galinda tell her exactly how Fiyero had _held_ her, of course, or…or how good a kisser he was…

"…so then, you see, Elphie…I got flustered…"

…how his lips had moved with hers…

"See, I was…worried it might be…mm…"

…Elphaba let her eyes drift shut, the firelight warm against her lids…

"…Avaric or someone…mean…report us…"

…or how light and gentle his touch was against her cheeks as he cupped her face…that perfect, blue-eyed face…

"…and we didn't…mm…"

…the only one he truly deserved…

"…I'msosleepy…Elphie…"

…and Galinda was almost, almost positive that he really, truly cared for her…Elphaba tried, vaguely, to shut out the thoughts…

"…so we hid…in a cupboard…and Fiyero…"

…what did she care if Fiyero was a good kisser…?

"…Fiyero…and I was…mm…can't remember now…"

…or even a good dancer…? He _was _a good dancer…she'd seen him…such a good dancer…

"…sleepy, Elphie…"

…she didn't care if Fiyero was a good anything…

"…sleepy…"

He was an idiot. A brainless, pampered idiot. Nothing more. Nothing less…

"…sleepy…"

Nothing more…

"…sleepy…"

Nothing less…

"…Fiyero…"

…nothing less…

"…sleepy, Fiyero…"

…nothing but Fiyero…

"…Fiyero…"

...just Fiyero…

"…Fiyero…"

Fiyero…

…Fiyero…

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><p>Both girls fell into sleep in their separate beds at the same clock-tick, too exhausted from to care any more about hearing what the other had to say concerning nights out, or kisses, or anything else besides. Both slept. Both dreamt.<p>

And both let same man rule both of their minds and thoughts in dangerously similar ways for the rest of what was left of the serene, moonlit night.

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><p><strong>A certain insanely gorgeous and utterly irresistible Winkie prince is singing to you to review, review, review, review…come on, you can't say no to Fiyero...<strong>


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